Saturday, April 21, 2007

Ryan A. Bishop remembered

MARSHALL — "Carpe Diem" was the motto Spc. Ryan A. Bishop lived by, said his former college roommate.

Bishop, a 1992 Marshall High School graduate, was on patrol south of Baghdad Saturday when his unit was hit by an improvised explosive device. Bishop, an infantryman assigned to Company C, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, was killed in the explosion.

Marshall alumnus Ted Storie, lived with Bishop in Tyler during their college years.

"He was always excited about everything, that's the kind of guy he was," Storie said. "He was the most intense person I ever met."

Storie recalled one day in class Bishop said, "The only Latin you need to know is right here" and pointed to his shirt that read "Carpe Diem" — meaning seize the day.

"He lived by it," Storie said, "I'm sure a lot of people remember that shirt."

Bishop was a 1996 Tyler Junior College graduate and a 1992 graduate of Marshall High School where he was a member of the 1990 State Football Championship team.

Bishop's family lived in Marshall for about seven years before moving to Tyler a year after his high school graduation according to his older brother, Paul Bishop.

The 32-year-old native of Euless joined the Army in February 2005 and completed basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga.

Paul Bishop said his brother was looking for a change and was inspired by a co-worker who was in the army. He was working as a land surveyor at the time.

His wife Melanie told the Tyler Morning Telegraph, "He believed deeply in what he was doing and he just wanted to do his part," Ms. Bishop said. "He was very loyal and he was just a blast to be around."

"He felt pretty strongly that it was something he had to do for his country and for himself, " Paul Bishop said.

In June 2006 he was assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y. and joined the 'Polar Bears' of 4-31 Infantry. He deployed with his unit to Iraq in August 2006.

Bishop's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Storie was not aware that Bishop had joined the Army, but said, "He had strong convictions, and it sounds like something he would do."

"I can't believe he actually went but he believed in it and that's all that mattered."

Storie said he has been receiving e-mails from all over the country since Bishop's death.

"He had friends everywhere," he said.

Bishop is survived by his wife, Melanie and father, Charlie Bishop, both of Tyler.